As we reported on Friday, in parts of the Northeast, Nabisco’s traditional Premium brand saltine crackers have abruptly disappeared from the shelves. Unless they want to switch to one of the several other brands of saltines, their only choices are mini crackers or the new round ones. The change also disguises a stealth Grocery Shrink Ray that reduces the total mass of crackers in a box.

Dave of the blog Dave’s Cupboard noticed the phenomenon, and price-checked the new crackers against the old ones. Same price for five and a half fewer ounces of crackers.

Dave points out the biggest insult to consumers’ intelligence in all of this: the boxes say “Original.”

I live in what is now round saltine country, and can confirm that the smaller boxes of round crackers are being sold at the same price point that the larger boxes of square crackers had been at Price Chopper and Super Walmart. I was delighted to snap up the last box of square crackers at my neighborhood grocery store, because my life really is that sad.

Nabisco’s Premium Saltines Go Round and Round [Dave’s Cupboard]

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